Is it cheaper to make or buy apple juice?
With the rising costs of groceries and everything else, many people are looking for ways to save money on food and drink items. One item that some consider making themselves rather than buying is apple juice. But is it really cheaper to make your own apple juice versus buying it at the store? Let’s take a look at the costs involved with both options.
Costs of Making Apple Juice
If you want to make apple juice at home, you’ll need apples, a juicer or press, jars or bottles for storing the juice, and any ingredients you want to add like sugar or cinnamon. Here are some typical costs for the ingredients and supplies you’ll need:
| Item | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Apples (5 lbs) | $5-$10 |
| Juicer or press | $30-$150+ (one-time cost) |
| Jars or bottles | $10-$20 for 12 |
| Other ingredients (sugar, spices) | $5 |
| Total | $50-$185+ |
A few things to note about the costs of making apple juice:
- Apple costs can vary greatly depending on the type and quantity you buy. Organic or fresh-pressed apples are more expensive.
- Juicers can range from inexpensive models under $50 to high-end machines over $200. The price varies based on features and juicing capacity.
- You may already have jars or bottles on hand to reuse. Canning jars or swing-top bottles work well.
- Spices and sweeteners are optional but can enhance flavor.
Overall, you’re looking at a fairly wide range of possible costs. On the low end, with basic apples, a budget juicer, and reused bottles, you might spend around $50 or less. With higher quantities of organic apples, a heavy-duty juicer, and new bottles, costs could easily reach $150 or more.
Costs of Buying Apple Juice
If you opt to purchase pre-made apple juice at the grocery store, here are some typical costs:
| Item | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Store brand juice (64 oz) | $2-$3 |
| National brand juice (64 oz) | $4-$6 |
| Organic juice (64 oz) | $6-$10 |
| Juice boxes (10 oz., 12 pack) | $4-$6 |
| Total for 1 gallon | $8-$20 |
Some notes on buying pre-made apple juice:
- Store brands are the cheapest options for bottles or jugs.
- National brands like Mott’s or Juicy Juice are 2-3x more expensive.
- Organic juices command the highest prices, but are still less than making your own organic juice.
- Juice boxes offer individual servings but have the highest per-ounce costs.
- Consider sales, coupons, and bulk-size jugs to lower the price.
Overall, you can pay anywhere from $8 per gallon for basic store brand juice up to $20 per gallon for premium organic juice. This is far less than the startup costs of making homemade juice.
Making vs. Buying Apple Juice: The Verdict
Based on a cost comparison, it is almost always cheaper to buy pre-made apple juice rather than make it yourself. Here’s a quick overview:
| Making Apple Juice | Buying Apple Juice |
|---|---|
|
|
Buying pre-made juice at the store is clearly the cheaper option per gallon of juice produced. Even with bulk apples and reuse of equipment, DIY juice ends up costing over $50 per batch. Store-bought juice is available for under $10 per gallon.
However, there are a few instances where juicing your own apples makes sense:
- You have access to free or very cheap apples, like from your own apple tree.
- You want total control over ingredients for health reasons.
- You enjoy the process and it’s worth the premium.
But for the average consumer without access to free or discounted apples, buying pre-made juice is definitively cheaper than making it yourself. You end up saving at least $30-40 per batch by purchasing store-bought juice.
Let’s go through a few more specific examples comparing costs:
1. Using a basic juicer and store apples
- 5 lbs apples = $7
- Cheap juicer = $30
- Bottles and ingredients = $10
- Total = $47 for 1 gallon
VS.
- Store brand juice = $8 per gallon
2. Using an expensive juicer and organic apples
- 10 lbs organic apples = $20
- Premium juicer = $200
- Bottles and ingredients = $20
- Total = $240 for 1 gallon
VS.
- Organic juice = $10-$20 per gallon
In both cases, the DIY juice costs many times more than buying pre-made juice. Only with access to free or discounted apples does homemade start to become economical. Even then, you need to juice high volumes to justify the equipment costs.
Additional Factors to Consider
Beyond just ingredient costs, there are a few other factors that may influence the make vs. buy decision for apple juice:
Time
Juicing apples takes significant time – washing, chopping, pressing, bottling, and cleanup. Buying juice at the store takes mere minutes. For many consumers, the time tradeoff may not be worth the potential tiny cost savings of homemade.
Convenience
Pre-made juice requires no work and is ready-to-drink. Homemade juice requires a time investment for each batch. You also have to plan ahead as juice only lasts 1-2 weeks refrigerated.
Taste
The flavor of fresh homemade juice beats store-bought in many opinions. You control the apple variety, sweetness, and extras. But taste preferences are subjective. Some are fine with grocery store juice.
Nutrition
Juicing your own apples allows complete control over nutrition and ingredients. Store juices may have added sugars, preservatives, or nutrient degradation over time. But both offer nutritional benefits.
Food Waste
A benefit of making your own juice is that you can use apples that might otherwise go bad. Juicing utilizes apples with blemishes or bruises that are still good. Store juice uses perfect apples.
Environmental Impact
Home juicing creates more food waste withdiscarding peels and pulp. Store juice makes use of the entire apple. But homemade avoids plastic waste from bottles and transport.
The Bottom Line
In summary, when comparing the costs of making homemade apple juice versus buying pre-made juice at the store, the store-bought option is hands down more affordable in nearly all scenarios. The exception is if you have access to free or discounted apples. With normal grocery store apple prices, juicing at home costs a minimum of $50 per gallon compared to less than $10 per gallon for store juice. While homemade does offer advantages like taste and nutrition control, you’ll pay a significant price premium for those benefits.
For most people without their own apple tree, buying pre-made apple juice is the cheaper option compared to making it themselves. Convenience and time savings are added benefits. But for those who truly enjoy the juicing process or have excess apples, juicing your own can be rewarding despite the higher costs. Just know that you won’t be saving any money over store-bought juice unless you’ve got very cheap apples!